WHAT WORKS IN EDUCATION The George Lucas Educational Foundation

Integrated Studies

Integrated Studies: What Experts Say

Teacher and students looking at an arm bone
Credit: Ethan Pines

This article originally published on 12/6/2011

Integrated Studies: A Short History

Authors

Girls at Aviation High building airplane wings
Credit: Edutopia

In a ninth-grade math class, students analyze a variety of graphs to look for trends in Americans’ eating habits and public health patterns. In social studies, the same students do field investigations to compare the fresh produce selections at local grocers catering to different demographics.

This article originally published on 12/6/2011

How to Creatively Integrate Science and Math

Ben Johnson

Ben Johnson served as an administrator in large and small schools, and at a charter school. He was the assistant superintendent of the Natalia Independent School District where he helped bring about major improvements in student learning.


Why is the sky blue? I remember in my physical science class, our teacher showed us a possible reason why the sky is blue. He took a canister of liquid oxygen and poured it out on the table. I saw the blueness of the liquid as it flowed out and then disappeared. Then we talked about color, frequencies, and absorption, reflected and radiated light. I wondered how scientist ever figured these things out? Duh -- math!

Schools That Work: Integrating Art and Politics to Improve High School Student Engagement

Editor's Note: AP government teacher Dayna Laur and art teacher Katlyn Wolfgang collaborated to create a joint project between their classes. After Edutopia produced the video below, Dayna and Katlyn, who teach at Central York High School in York, Pennsylvania, shared their strategies for creating a successful integrated studies project. You can also find free resources and downloads from from Central York High School.

Video
Teachers Dayna Laur (AP government) and Katlyn Wolfgang (art) at Central York High School in York, Pennsylvania, share their strategies for creating successful integrated studies projects. To learn more, check out our interview with them in How to Integrate Art and Politics to Improve High School Student Engagement. For free integrated studies downloads and resources, see the links below.

High School Students Develop Life Skills and Financial Literacy in "Harsh Reality" Program

Editor's Note: Today's guest blogger is Lily Boyar a high school junior in Marin County, CA. She attends a yearlong experiential education program called Team. Team is made up of 24 students from three major public high schools in the district. For an entire year they experience what it is like to be an independent learner, including a semester-long internship in a local organization. Lily is interning at Edutopia.

Jeff Goldstein on Reigniting Our Enthusiasm for Science @ NSTA 2011 (Video)

Editor's Note: Blog written by Lora Ma (executive producer, web); video credits: Zachary Fink (director of video programming), Mariko Nobori (video programming coordinator).

March 10, 2011 – National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) conference in San Francisco, CA